Cape Town — Jacob Zuma’s lawyers said the National Assembly and the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) had no right and authority to determine Zuma’s eligibility to contest the elections.
Zuma was in the Constitutional Court yesterday to hear Zuma’s critical case over whether or not he was eligible to contest the upcoming elections. The IEC argued that, as per the constitutional norm, Zuma had to face provisions due to the fact that he faced a 12 month prison sentence, which bars anyone from serving in Parliament.
However, Zuma’s lawyer, Dali Mpofu, has argued that it was not up to the IEC to determine the electoral eligibility of anyone, and that it came down to the National Assembly, TimesLIVE reported.
“The constitution says that the National Assembly may determine and control its own orders and its business with due regard to its representatives. The real separation of powers is this one … It is where an institution of democracy such as the IEC can ever have the power to intrude into the exclusive domain of the National Assembly when it doesn’t have the authority to do so.” Mpofu said.
[WATCH] Adv. Dali Mpofu accuses IEC commissioner Janet Love of lying and being biased against former president #JacobZuma. #Newzroom405 pic.twitter.com/bQTVf8GMlx
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) May 10, 2024
Mpofu was then questioned by Justice Stevan Majidet, who asked if he had ever seen the NA determine electoral eligibility, and Mpofu cited former Tshwane mayor, Murunwa Makwarela, who was removed as mayor after it was found that he was declared insolvent.
“The Tshwane council did not go to the IEC for that but determined his eligibility and he was taken out of his mayorship. If you do something there and they want to kick you out even if it’s for the day, they will.” he said.
The IEC argued that Zuma was not eligible to stand for parliament, stating the remission of his sentence did not hold ground.
“We argue that the Electoral Court fundamentally erred when it held that an impact of a remission is a reduction of a sentence. That is not borne out by the text, it is not borne out by history and it is not borne out of the purpose of this section.”
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
